Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (Photo Credit: File Image)
New Delhi:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that the national capital will be under complete lockdown from tomorrow, 6 PM. During his press briefing, Kejriwal also announced that the borders of the state will also be sealed and all public transport facilities will be suspended, only 25 per cent of DTC services will be functional. All offices, markets, godowns, will be closed from tomorrow till March 31. He also informed that all religious shrines will be locked down.
Calling the lockdown necessary, CM Arvind Kejriwal said that the government understands that the people will face some difficulties during this period, but the lockdown will help in containing the spread of the virus. The chief minister further added that all essential services will remain open. "Grocery shops, pharmacies, food takeaways/deliveries will remain open," Arvind Kejriwal informed.
In Uttar Pradesh, fifteen districts, that have been impacted by coronavirus outbreak, will be locked down temporarily as a measure to combat deadly COVID-19, announced Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday.
Districts that have been put under temporarily lockdown are - Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Agra, Lucknow, Muradabad, Barabanki, Varanasi, Bareilly, Azamgarh, Kanpur, Meerut, Prayagraj, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, and Saharanpur.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that 15 districts in Uttar Pradesh would be under lockdown in the first phase till Wednesday i.e March 25. The announcement came soon after the Centre decided to put under lockdown 75 districts across the country where cases of deadly coronavirus have been reported.
The lockdown will continue till Wednesday, he said. "I appeal to all the citizens that they should stay indoors and not venture out of their homes." "Unnecessary crowding should be avoided, and people should avoid gathering at public places," the chief minister said. "This is because as we are standing at a juncture, where even a slight laxity can prove to be harmful."
Adityanath said officials of the police and district administration would undertake patrolling in these districts. "No activity will be done in these districts, where lockdown has been enforced. We will review the situation tomorrow," he said.
If any family needs anything in emergency, 112 service of the state police will be available, he added.
The total number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 341 on Sunday after fresh cases were reported from various parts of the country, the Union Health Ministry said.
Millions of people across the country stayed indoors, streets wore a deserted look and bare number of vehicles were on the road on Sunday in an unprecedented shutdown on Modi's appeal for a 'Janata curfew' to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed over 13,000 lives worldwide.
